Counting and stacking tablets



Dec. 4,1956

Filed July 10, 1953 E. E. LAKSO COUNTING AND STACKING TABLETS 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Dec. 4, 1956 E. E. LAKSO 2,772,792

COUNTING AND STACKING TABLETS Filed July 10, 1955 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

Dec. 4, 1956 E. E. LAKSO 2,772,792

courmuc AND STACKING TABLETS Filed July 10, 1953 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN VEN TOR.

Dec. 4, 1956 so 2,772,792

COUNTING AND STACKING TABLETS Filed July 10, 1953 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. 6 10 f,

Dec. 4, 1956 E. E. LAKSO 2,772,792

COUNTING AND STACKING TABLETS Filed July 10, 1953 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 W Fig.6

IN V EN TOR.

age.

Dec. 4, 1956- E. E. LAKSO 2,772,792

COUNTING AND STACKING TABLETS Filed July 10, 1953 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 IN V EN TOR.

United States Patent 2,772,792 COUNTING AND STACKING TABLETS Eino E. Lakso, Fitchburg, Mass.

Application July 10, 1953, Serial No. 367,250

16 Claims. (Cl. 214---7) v This invention relates to counting and stacking. tablets although the invention is useful for processing other articles, and the principal object of theinvention resides in the provision of new and improved means for faster and more efiicient operation in the-counting,.aligning, and stacking of flat tablet-like articles preparatory to packaging the same in multiples in tube-type containers.

Further objects of the invention reside in the provision of means for feeding a line of'flattablets in edgeto-edge relation in the same plane substantially as they are fed from the apparatus that manufactures: them, said flatly-aligned tablets being counted and discharged in individual equal multiples which are to be packaged, and in the present case the apparatus hasbeen illustrated as packaging twenty-five tablets at a time, although any other number may be processed.

A still further object of the invention resides in the provision of new and improved apparatus for counting and stacking tablet-like articles without damaging the same, avoiding breakage, and preparing the tablets in multiples for quick and easy insertion thereof into tube- 2 Fig. 8 is a view in elevation of the mechanism occasioning the dwell during the discharge operation; and

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the linkage of Fig. 8.. Referring first to Fig. 1, there is provided in this case a-vertical chute 10 which has lips 12 overlying the general path of advance of a series of flat tablet-like articles T, to confine the same to the path of advance. These tabletlike articles progress down the chute and step or stop is provided to stop the articles with the lowermost tablet in the position T1. I

It is to be understood that there are more tablets in the chute than are to be counted in a multiple unit for packaging, so that there are always tablets available for feeding and counting upon discharge of a counted multiple. The step or stop which stops the downward motion of the lowermost tablet is indicated at 14 in Figs. 2 and 5; The step 14 is located between a pair of counting wheels indicated at 16, 18. In this case, these wheels are provision of a chute along. which the tablet-like articles are fed in line longitudinally in planar :edge-to-edge; con--' dition to a step or stop, whereupon toothed wheels are" intermittently rotated to' engage individual articlesseri atim adjacent opposite edgesthereof'to .translatethe same in a direction at right angles to their 'longiudinal line of travel and in parallel flat contacting relation similar to coins in a coin wrapper, said apparatus including-"mechato provide an accurate counting means, the translation of said tablet article ceasing when the required numberhave been parallely'fiatly aligned as above described; and

including automatic means for then: discharging said counted parallely aligned tablet-like articles into feed means preparatory to packaging the same.-'-

Other objects. and advantages:- of the;invention*will appear hereinafter. a i V Reference is to be hadto the accompanying-drawings,- in which v nism for operating said toothed wheels in such a way as Fig. l is a view in front elevation of a machine' embo'gly ing the present invention, parts being omitted andbr'okem away for the sake of clarity;

Fig. 2c is a vertical section on.line'2-2- Of Figi' 1 Fig. 3 is a front view onan enlargedscale of the sp ming mechanism and associated delivery means, parts being for clarity;

showing part of thef gearfingf 7 is a P view of e ea ingu i hparts. omitted." 7

shown as having twelve teeth each, this being a relatively easy number of teeth to form and since twenty-five tabletsare to be counted, the wheels will rotate 2 revolutions for each multiple unit of tablets counted.

The wheels 16, 18 are located on vertical shafts 20 and the teeth are relatively narrow and widely spaced in order to provide ample space for tablets T2 to descend after tablet T1 has stopped on step 14 and has been translated horizontally at right angles to the chute as indicated in Fig, 2. Clearly a revolution of 2 times will cause twenty-five tablets T1, T2, T3, etc. to be movedfrom step 14 seriatim and in flatwise parallel contacting condition (see Fig. 2) at TX. These tablets are being moved each by the succeeding one along a pair of rails 22 which are concavely shaped as'shown in Figs. 1 and 3 to best accommodate the tablets in upstanding condition upon their edges as is required bythemechanics of the present invention. H a

After n e a t r Wh tever numbe atartic es, is to be translated, have 'been rnoved torwapd tostand upon the guides 22, mechanism is: provided to stop the rotationof the-toothed counting wheels after their revolutions, whereupon the railsYZ Z are separated, and the. twenty five aligned'and counted tablets thereupon descend simultaneously onto a traveling belt 24 provided with a series of, transverse concave receptacles .26 carrying'the counted or aligned'tablet-like. articles as atTY. These articles in counted multiples are carriedlofi to be packaged;

in m h s i l h is n heie tm t er f the-r te ent invention.

Referring now to Fig. 4,;thereis showna mainQd ive Shaft 8 w h-i w teml dr vea x'an ean s a PiQ kst- Th s haf ha P o id d. t e eo a t le iksl3z eeparti u erl E ia 2) thi n n s! relatively 'slowly rotated in a'clockwisedirection.asseen I in this figure A :shqw inf g slr he eai fih scqatac e ri's ag nt to were: a tmqm eda he n nde fl a lever. 316

secured'at'its 'lower end to a rock. shaft 33 andthe reby c n h Same. i he, directi n of he rrow 40 in. F

2, ha he me t sh fti mo ed n a lo k ise directi 3),J 1qs c ng n ul r m t en, Qfs d lever 455.

downwardly to the broken line positions off Fig.3.

Each lever 46 is attached at its opposite end, o another-L mckshe t 50 each 9 .1 Appr ia e mantis. tilize or etu ner; i t e r. w i s upr h pos t on ich is provided 'iyithfan standing lever 52 rising substantially vertically and at their uppermost ends mounting the respective guides 22. Looking at Fig. 3, for instance, it will be seen that the upright levers 52 have an angular travel simultaneously from vertical positions to positions located outwardly therefrom, wherein the tablets TX will fall from the position shown in Fig. 2 to come to rest in the concave troughs 26 on the conveyor belt above described. A spring 54 may be utilized to return the upright levers 22 to normal position wherein the guides 22 support the next batch of tablets TX and this action will of course return levers 42 and 36 to their original positions.

The counting wheels 16, 18 are preferably made with annular central grooves as shown at 56 and these grooves accommodate horizontal side guides 58 which prevent the tablets from moving sideways at all during the travel thereof from step 14 along guides 22. These lateral guides may be triangular in shape and are fixed, being supported by brackets 60 located at the front part of the machine frame as at 62 (see Fig. 2).

While the discharge operation is taking place, the feeding and counting wheels 16 and 18 must dwell and this is accomplished by the shaft 28 which is continuously driven as described and may be mounted upon the frame. This shaft extends out at the left-hand end of the frame (see Fig. 4) and on this extension there is located a gear 62. This gear 62 is fixed to shaft 28 cccentrically so that as shaft 28 rotates, gear 62 turns about shaft 28 as a center as seen in Fig. 8 in the direction of the arrow. This gear is in mesh with a flying gear 64 mounted on an axis at 66 in a link 68, the other end of which is swingingly mounted to the center of gear 62 as at 70. As gear 62 rotates, gear 64 is likewise rotated and translated in a general left to right direction. The

translation motion of gear 64 is controlled by a link 72 pivotally mounted to the gear 64 at 66 and also on a shaft 74 at the top of the frame.

Shaft 74 is provided with a gear 76 fixed thereto, and the result of the above described construction is that shaft 74 is rotated in a clockwise direction but at a certain portion of the cycle there is a 60 dwell, so that shaft 74 is intermittentently rotated.

Shaft 74 is provided with a gear 78 driving a bevel gear 80, which in turn drives shaft 82 mounted in bearings 84 in the frame of the machine. Spur gears 86 are connected to drive the toothed counting wheel shafts 20, 20 in opposite directions as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 5, and the counting wheels are thereby intermittently operated and are provided with a 60 dwell in the cycle of operation of shaft 28, during which period of dwell the tablets in the vertical chute, i. e. tablet T1, is not moved but remains where situated in Figs. 1 and 3, holding back the succeeding articles; however, as soon as the links 52 are back in the upright solid position of Fig. 3,

the counting wheels again start to operate, pushing out tablet T1, T2, etc. onto the guide rails 22 in a repetition of the cycle above described.

In order to prevent any of the tablets TX from tipping over forwardly, there is provided an air jet 90'directed toward the tablets T1, TX and holding the same in the position indicated.

It will be seen that this invention provides a tablet counting and stacking machine for the purpose described, in which the tablets are accurately and efiiciently counted and arranged for bottling without chipping or causing dust or in any way being roughly handled and the ma chine operates as rapidly as is possible commensurate with these characteristics by reason of the novel construction of the apparatus herein described.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what I claim is:

1. An article counting and stacking apparatus com prising a chute for guiding articles in a line of advance in edge-to-edge contacting relation, a stop spaced from an end of the chute, a toothed transfer and counting wheel at each side of the stop and each wheel having teeth thereon extending into the path of the articles between the chute and the stop, a guide aligned with the stop, said counting wheel teeth engaging each article and one by one travelling the same from the stop to the guide.

2. Counting and stacking apparatus for articles comprising a source of articles arranged in co-planar edge contacting relation, means guiding said articles in a line of advance, means engaging stacking, and travelling said articles seriatim in face-to-face stacked relation, said stacking means operating in intermittent relation to stack only a predetermined number of articles, and means operating in timed relation to the stacking means, transferring said counted and stacked articles.

3. Article counting apparatus comprising a source of articles arranged in'uni-planar' edge-to-edge contacting relation, and means to guide the same along a line of advance, intermittently operated means moving a predetermined number of said articles at angles thereto in fiatwise stacked relation, means stopping the advance of the articles in edge-to-edge relation, and means effective to transfer said stacked articles laterally of the stack.

4. Counting and stacking apparatus for articles comprising a source of articles arranged in edge contacting relation, means guiding said articles in a line of advance, means engaging stacking, and travelling said articles seriatim in face-to-face relation, said stacking means operating in intermittent relation to stack only a predetermined number of articles, and means yieldingly opposing the travel of the stacked articles and holding the same upright.

5. Counting and stacking apparatus for articles comprising a source of articles arranged in edge contacting relation, means guiding said articles in a line of advance, means engaging, stacking, and travelling said articles seriatim in, face-to-face relation, said stacking means operating in intermittent relation to stack only a predetermined number of-articles, andmeans yieldingly opposing the travel of, the stacked articles and holding the same upright, said last-named means including an air jet directed at the first'travelling stacked article.

6. Stacking apparatus for articles comprising means guiding a line of articles in edge-to-edge contacting relation, a stop for the articles, a pair of toothed counting wheels arranged one at'each side of said step, means intermittently rotating the wheels to cause the teeth thereof to engage and transfer seriatim a predetermined number of said articles from said stop into stacked relation at an angle to the first-named line of advance, and means operating in timed relation to said counting wheels to transfer said. stack of a. predetermined number of articles. 7

7. Stacking apparatus for articles comprising means guiding a line of; articles in edge-to-edge contacting relation, a stop for the articles, a pair of toothed counting mined number oftsaid articles from said stop into stacked.

relation at an angle to the first-named line of advance, and means operating in timed relation to'said counting wheels to transfer said stack ofya predetermined number of articles, means stopping the rotation of said counting wheels during the transfer operation.

- 8. A counting and stacking device comprising means for advancing a line of articles in ,edge-to-edge contacting relation; a guide at general right angles thereto, a stop for the articles, article advancing means engaging said stopped articles one-by-one and transferring the same onto said guide, means intermittently operating said article transfer means, means actuating said guide means to transfer the stacked predetermined number of articles, said last-named means comprising a pair of rocking arms,

means to rock the same in timed relation to the article transfer means, said guideway being in a plurality of parts, each of which is connected to an arm and said arms being efiective to separate said parts to drop the stack of articles.

9. Apparatus of the class described comprising a frame, a main shaft thereon, means for rotating said shaft at a uniform rate of speed, a movable element, means to drive said element from said main shaft, and means interposed'between said shaft and said element for intermittently operating the latter, said last-named means comprising a linkage including a gear eccentrically mounted with respect to the main shaft, a link on said gear, a flying gear in mesh. with the first-named gear, a second shaft, a gear thereon in mesh with the secondnamed gear, and a link connected between the centers of the last-named gear and the second-named gear, said second shaft being connected to drive the movable element wherein the movable elementcomprises a pair of g shaft, a guideway between the wheels, and said WhfifilS' rotating in unison to cause the teeththereon to simultaneously engage an article located in the guideway.

10. An article counting and stacking apparatus cornprising a guideway therein, a line of articles in edge-torelation, a stop for the leading article, a counting and transfer wheel at each side of said stop, the articles being fed between the wheels and the stop being located to position the leading articles between the wheels to be engaged simultaneously by a tooth on each wheel for transfer laterally of itself, and means to rotate said toothed counting wheels intermittently to transfer a series of stacks of said articles in a direction at right angles to the axes of said counting wheels.

11. The apparatus of the preceding claim including a guideway for said stacked articles, said guideway being parallel with the path of advance of the stacked article, said guideway being formed in a plurality of parts, and means separating said parts to provide for dropping the stacked articles.

12, A counting apparatus comprising a guideway along which articles advance in edge-to-edge relation, a stop for the leading article, said stop positioning said leading article in a predetermined location, a toothed counting wheel located at each side of said predetermined location in position toengage one face of the leading article adjacent opposite edges thereof and transfer the same from said stop laterally, each counting wheel comprising a pair of spaced annular series of.teeth,'-and lateral guides intersecting said teeth in the spaces between said pairs of annularly arranged teeth.

13. A counting apparatus comprising a guideway along which articles advance in edge-to-edge relation, a stop for the leading article, said stop positioning said leading article in a predetermined location, a toothed counting Wheel located at'each side of said predetermined location in position to engage one face of the leading article adjacent opposite edges thereof and transfer the same from said stop laterally, each counting Wheel comprising a pair of spaced annular series of teeth, and lateral guides intersecting said teeth in the spaces between said pairs of annularly arranged teeth, and a guideway supporting said transferred articles in a direction parallel to said aforementioned guides, said guideway comprising a pair of elongated members and means for holding the same in article-guiding relation and intermittently separating the same to drop said articles, and means operating the guideway members in timed relation to the counting device so that the latter are still while the guideway is in operation to drop said articles.

14. Apparatus of the class described comprising a frame, a shaft, a cam on the shaft, an article guide, means to actua'te'the guide to-discharge articles thereon, said cam intermittently operating said means according to the rotation' of the shaft, means to feed articles onto the guide, means to operate the articlefeed means only when the cam is inactive to cause article discharge from the guide, .said last-named means comprising a gear on the shaft eccentric,thereto, a flying gear in mesh with the eccentric gear, a fixed axis gear in mesh with the flying gear, and means driven by the fixed axis gear-to operate the feed means.

15. Apparatus of the class described comprising an articlet guide including a plurality of parts, means mounting each guide part separately, said guide part mounting means being separable to separate the guide parts to dis charge articles thereon, and means to separate the guide part mounting means comprising a cam, a rocker shaft intermittently engaged by the cam, a rocker arm on the rocker shaft for each guide part mounting means, each guide part being rockable and rocked at intervals by the respective rocker arm.

16. Apparatus of the class described comprising an article guide including a plurality of parts, means mounting each guide part separately, said guide part mounting means being separable to separate the-guide parts to discharge articles theron, and means to separate the guide part mounting means comprising a cam, a rocker shaft intermittently engaged by the cam, a rocker arm on the rocker shaft for each guide part mounting means, each guide part being rockable and rocked at intervals by the respective rocker arm, means to count articles in multiples and stack the same on the guide, said article counting means including feed wheels to contact and push said articles seriatim along the guide, means to rotate the feed wheels, and means to stop the feed Wheel rotation'after an interval of counting and stacking, said feed-wheel stoppingmeans being timed to coincide with the separation of the guide parts. Y

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

